Tag Archives: bark

June 9, 2026 · 5:18 pm

Herbal Actions, Energetics and Chemicals 101 )O(

My Mom’s pot of nasturtiums!

Merry meet all,

Herbal actions, energetics and phytochemistry – say what? If you have ever gazed at a patch of stinging nettle or sniffed a peppermint leaf or added pungent basil to your salad, you would never have guessed there would be way more to herbs than met the eager eye. People have been using herbs for medicinal purposes, cooking or for spiritual purposes for about 60,000 years. In this post, I will share a few different ways for you to become more familiar with herbs. 

Organoleptics

There are many ways to get to know herbs. Let’s take a look at the most basic way- other than growing them or enjoying them in tea. It’s called organoleptics and we have been doing that all this time. Organoleptics refers to the sensory properties of a substance that can be perceived by the senses, particularly taste, smell, and touch. Peppermint has potent volatile oils. If I brush by peppermint in the garden, a  refreshing scent is released. yum!  I see chamomile blossoms soak up the sun in the garden. I have been stung by stinging nettle. I feel the prickly needles from a pine or spruce tree in the winter. Those are all examples of organoleptics. 

There is more to herbs than their beautiful aromas and flavor. We will explore herbal actions, energetics and phytochemistry now.  If you have ever heard the terms anti-inflammatory, antiviral or antimicrobial before, then you are a bit familar with herbal actions. 

Herbal Actions

Herbal actions are specific, physiological or therapeutic effects that an herb or a plant has on the human body, such as soothing or strengthening tissues or systems. These actions range from sedatives for calming a frazzled mind or adaptogens for stress and classify how herbs work.

A few examples of herbal actions and usage:

  • Adaptogen: Helps the body adapt to stress and boost the immune system (e.g., ashwagandha)
  • Alterative: Supports the metabolic processes and cleanses the blood (dandelion, nettle, burdock root)
  • Antimicrobial: Protects against infection (e.g., Echinacea, goldenseal)
  • Carminative: These herbs aid in digestive issues (e.g., ginger, fennel and chamomile)
  • Demulcent (Soothes and protects irritated tissues (valerian, marshmallow)
  • Nervines (Calms and supports the nervous system (passionflower, lavender, chamomile and lemon balm)
  • Vulnerary (Heals and promotes wound healing (e.g., calendula, comfrey)

Herbal Energetics

Energetics refer to a system of traditional medicine that classifies herbs based on their temperature (hot/cold), moisture (moist/dry), and tone (tension/relaxation). It matches these qualities to an individual’s constitution, or the tissue state of a disease, to restore balance, such as using cooling herbs for inflammation.

Key Concepts of Herbal Energetics
  • Temperature (Hot/Cold): Determines if an herb increases circulation and heat (e.g., ginger) or reduces heat and inflammation (e.g., peppermint).
  • Moisture (Moist/Dry): Indicates if an herb adds moisture to dry tissues (e.g., marshmallow root) or dries damp/swollen tissues (e.g., goldenrod).
  • Tone/Structure (Tension/Relaxation): Relates to tightening loose tissues (astringent) or relaxing tense muscles/nerves (antispasmodic)
Usage Examples
  • Hot & Dry: Used for individuals who are cold and damp, often using stimulant or warming, drying herbs.
  • Cool & Moist: Used to soothe hot and dry conditions, such as using demulcent herbs (slippery elm, licorice) to treat inflamed, dry, and irritated mucous membranes.
  • Relaxing & Warming: Used to treat tense, cold individuals, utilizing aromatic, warming herbs like cinnamon or ginger to increase circulation

Synonyms and Related Terms

  • Constitutional Medicine: Tailoring herbs to a person’s unique, long-term body state.
  • Humoral Medicine: An ancient system classifying people by humors (sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic) which connect directly to hot/cold/wet/dry qualities.
  • Vitalist Medicine: An approach that works with the body’s innate healing force rather than just fighting symptoms.
  • Tissue States: A model often used in Western herbal medicine to identify physical states like depression, stagnation, or inflammation. 

These principles allow for a “person-centered” approach rather than merely matching a single herb to a single symptom. The energetic qualities of an herb refer to the subtle ways that plants impact the human body, mind and/or the spirit. For example, ginger (Zingiber officinale) is energetically warming because it stimulates blood flow in the body. Marshmallow root (Althea officinalis) has a moistening energetic due to its demulcent properties. Echinacea ( Echinacea purpurea) tincture boosts the immune system and can make a person’s tongue tingle. Some energetics are strongly felt by the body while others are more subtle. Herbs like peppermint and spearmint are cooling and refreshing and herbs such as ginger and cayenne are warming.

Conditions

Conditions are considered as qualities or properties and can be referred to in terms of temperature, moisture and tension; energetic descriptors include warm, dry, cool, moist, tense, and relaxed.

Conditions are referred to in Western herbalism as tissue states. A fever is warm, a cough can be dry or moist, and swelling can be damp. Choosing herbs to heal that have the opposite quality to help counteract these energetics in order to return the body to balance. For example, if a person has heatstroke, you would choose cooling herbs. To help heal a sunburn or a burn from hot steam, a person could choose the soothing energetic properties of aloe vera.

The energetics of an individual are evident in their constitution. In Ayurveda, it is believed that everyone has a prakruti,which means their natural, unchanging constitution. An individual’s constitution can change throughout their lifetime. A person can have a dry constitution such as dry skin, dry nails which is made worse during certain seasons of the year, such as fall to winter.

Herbal actions and energetics can help us understand a person’s health condition and temperance. The task of understanding which herbs would be best suited to treat the person’s condition is much easier if we understand a person’s state of overall wellbeing and health conditions. Someone who routinely experiences excessive stress would benefit from ashwagandha, echinacea, or eleuthero root. Someone who suffers from sinus infections and moist coughs with excess mucus would benefit from the dry properties of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) while a dry cough with very little mucus could benefit from the moistening properties of licorice root (Glycorriza glabra or marshmallow  root). Licorice root has a moistening effect on dry tissues.

Let’s look at a few more terms about herbal energetics: cooling, warming, relaxing and stimulating. They sound like herbal actions, but are regarded more as properties. For example, the term “cooling” can be confusing and mean more than one thing. Let’s go back to our example of peppermint. If the herb has a cooling action, then the herbal property would be thought of as lowering the body temperature. But if the herb was considered a diaphoretic, that would suggest the action of encouraging perspiration to bring down a fever. That makes the term “cooling” a property. Cayenne and ginger are warming and stimulating. Ginger root relieves nausea, it has an antiemetic action and property. It contains potent antispasmodic volatile oils that soothe spasms in the digestive tract. However, ginger root is quite potent and pungent and I recommend ingesting ginger root when nausea has passed. 

Herbal actions explain what an herb does to the body, and properties refer to descriptors of the action. Peppermint aids the digestive system (carminative) and energizes the human body (stimulating).

Phytochemistry

Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals- chemical compounds that are derived from plants. Phytochemistry combines botany with plant chemistry. It studies the structure, biosynthesis, metabolism and certain functions. There are many chemical compounds within herbs. They range from menthol derived  from peppermint, gingerol derived from ginger root, tannins derived from acorns and saponins derived from soapwort. These are a few examples, as there are lots of chemical compounds in herbs and definitely more than one chemical compound in herbs at the same time. There are too many to mentiom here. 

Scientists who regularly study the chemical compounds within herbs often prefer to isolate a sole chemical compound. That means that they do not study all the chemical compounds in the herb/s and then they don’t value all the chemical compounds as a whole. Nature, as we all know, is far more complex than that. It refuses to be boxed or contained.

I find phytochemistry fascinating! I love studying all about the many chemical compounds in herbs and how they benefit the human body. Willow bark contains salicin, the active compound. That is where aspirin was originally derived from! I will share an example of willow bark with you, salicin, the chemical compound found in willow bark. 

Key Aspects of Willow Bark
  • Active Compound: Contains salicin, which the body converts into salicylic acid, providing analgesic (pain-relieving) and anti-inflammatory effects similar to aspirin.
  • Common Uses: Effective for treating low back pain, arthritis (especially osteoarthritis), muscle pain, and fevers.
  • Benefits: It acts as a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, often used in tinctures, capsules, or tea.
  • Safety & Side Effects: While generally safer than aspirin, it can still cause side effects like diarrhea, nausea, itching, and rash. It should be avoided by those with aspirin allergies, bleeding disorders, or kidney issues.
  • Dosage: Studies often cite 120–240 mg of salicin daily as effective for pain relief.

It is advisable to use these herbs in moderation or low doses. You never know how your body can react to it, especially if a person is taking a prescription. Using a small dose is best. It is also advised to talk to your family doctor if you are on medication while taking herbs for medicinal purposes. Some herbs such as St. John’s wort react very badly to the Wayfarin prescription. So go slow! 

I created my own willow bark tincture. I have made several tinctures and again, I would encourage using a low dose if you are not familiar with its effects. Making your own tinctures actually helps you save money in the long run. Do speak with your family doctor if you are on medication. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Maybe this will encourage you to learn more about our herbal allies. 

Till next time

Blessed be, Spiderwitch

 

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November 26, 2023 · 3:46 pm

The Beauty of Winter )O(

Merry meet all,

Nature is beautiful in the winter, in fact even more so. Maybe I’m biased because I live in an area where I am surrounded by nature but that is what today’s post is about; the beauty of winter. 

I made the whipped herbal butter! I love how it turned out. I used fresh sage and thyme leaves from my Mom’s garden. I also have been out foraging on the nature trail. I was inspired by a blog post I found on the web. Here is the link: https://dandelionherb.com/2021/12/17/yule-bundle-a-winter-solstice-ritual/?fbclid=IwAR2IFnttsUSQEO3XhnXjHk6SE4CqOSpZ2q5NXGTTMq0dlnFO8w4ZeLFtLTo

I decided I would try that craft. I was nearly frozen by the time I arrived home but it was worth it. And my coffee maker was on when I returned. 

I gathered branches from several trees and stored them in a cheap cloth grocery bag. I gathered birch, silver birch, witch hazel, maple, oak, eastern hemlock, eastern white pine and elderberry. I also gathered a lot of burning brush. Once home, I washed and dried the leaves and bark. I was totally awed by how beautiful everything was: the trees with their gorgeous colours of bark, the varying shades, leaves. Some of the bark was white, silvery white, brown, red, grey. It was all so gorgeous! I even scored a beautiful piece of birch bark. I let everything dry and then stacked the bundle of bark pieces together. I bound it all with a strip of the lovely brown muslin I dyed with acorns and secured it all with white string. I think it all looks so beautiful. I don’t want to burn it. The temperature now is too cold for too many outdoor activities, as reluctant as I am to admit it. I glued the birch bark to the bundle using a hot glue gun. The bark bundle is so lovely. I sprinkled rosemary essential oil to the bundle. Now the bundle smells divine!

The rosemary essential oil is making my kitchen smell amazing! I am cool with that. Rosemary is the herb of remembrance. Winter Solstice is a good time to remember what we can be thankful for and the abundance in our lives. We can also remember our loved ones, those who are with us now and those of who have passed. The dark half of the year is for the spirits and witches, to honour the spirits of those who have gone before us. 

I foraged a LOT of fiery red burning brush leaves. Once the leaves are dry, I plan to press them into the poetry book that I bound recently. They will look beautiful in the book. I removed the herbs and flowers I pressed from my large red Jane Austen book and now store them in wax paper in a large labeled envelope. I don’t read the Jane Austen stories (though it probably be good if I did), but I do use the thick book- I swear, the spine is at least 4- 5 inches in thickness, for pressing leaves and herbs. They were all so beautiful that I want to share them here with you! 

Enjoy! Blessings, Spiderwitch

Sage & Dill

Pressed goldenrod

Beeswax coated leaves

Raspberry leaf

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November 6, 2023 · 10:16 pm

Root tinctures & weird fiction )O(

 

Merry meet all,

I was out foraging for dandelion roots this morning. The earth is carpeted by beautiful autumn leaves, colouring the earth in a resplendent mix of browns, golds, yellows, oranges and fiery reds. I just love it and the weather was warm enough for foraging. I look forward to drying the roots in my dehydrator. 

I enrolled in the Business course at the Herbal Academy. The workbook is on its way to me. I am sure I will learn a lot from the course. I have to decide what I plan to do with my herbalism training. This course will help me with that. I still have a long way to go. The Business course teaches everything on how to manage a herbal-based business. Good thing too, as I don’t have the first clue. 

My bound book is so beautiful and cool. I ordered book corner protectors from Etsy. The corner protectors have an octopus on them to represent a character from Lovecraftian fiction. Here is the link: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1253357176/the-bookworms-from-shaggai-lovecraftian?ref=yr_purchases. I can’t wait to see how amazing my book cover will look. I have plenty to look forward to here. Now I have to write more poems to fill the pages of the bound book. 

I received the copies of Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird and the Halloweenthology anthology my story is published in. Both books are designed beautifully. I have to stock up on coffee because I shall spend many happy hours perusing the fascinating pages of Weird Tales. Yes and I have those three past issues of Weird Tales magazine to read too. I love to read, I am addicted to the written word. I will invest in a nice bookmark to accompany the huge book, 100 Years of Weird Tales. That is quite the book. 

That is a lot to keep me busy reading during the dark half of the year. I attended a psychic fair yesterday. I can’t recall the last time I was at a fair. It was so good to be at a fair and even better to be around real mediums. I hung out with the wannabe toxic queen bee drama witches for so long. I really enjoyed the fair. I bought a Harry Potter wand. 

I’m brewing a jar of apple slices in rum. I hope to conjure a brew of Apple Spiced Liquor. The potion has to brew for a few more days then I can strain out the apples. I cannot wait to sample the potion. The apple slices look beautiful steeping in the rum. It will taste amazing. I added cinnamon and cloves to the mixture. The apple slices have an amber color and the rum looks like a deep deep red/ burgundy color. I can’t wait to taste it. 

I am also making a skullcap and ashwagandha tincture. I am blending the herbs in two separate jars but I will eventually blend them into one. The intention is to use the tincture  to calm myself, ease stress and help me sleep. The calendula oil is still steeping, as well as the lavender oil is still steeping and the echinacea root tincture. 

I have dried the dandelion roots and the plantain leaves and seeds. I stored the seeds, roots and leaves in jars but I left the lids off. I want the herbal goods to have a chance to fully dry to avoid mold. I waited hours for it all to dry. It takes that long. If you don’t wait that long from morning to night, everything will be moldy and ruined. It takes patience and I have to stay home all day but I enjoy drying herbs – leaves, roots, seeds, bark in my dehydrator. I do not know how I ever managed to live without it. 

Before the frost hit my garden, I spread the last of the straw mulch over the garden. The leaves now cover the garden like a thick beautiful blanket. My soil, the beneficial insects and the roots of my herbs and other plants are now well protected. I harvested the echinacea seed heads. The frost has hit my garden but I know that even though the snow falls and the garden is laid to rest, in the spring it will be born anew. 

I would love to hear about your garden preparations for winter and tincture making. The Herbal Academy is offering a course in tinctures currently. https://theherbalacademy.com/product/tincture-making-101-mini-course/ 

Blessings Spiderwitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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September 11, 2023 · 11:19 am

Mabon: history, herbs and gems )O(

Merry meet all,

It never rains but it pours. The rain is pouring hard here. Today’s post is about herb and gemstone correspondences for Mabon, a magical time of year. I love Mabon, the second harvest Sabbat of three powerful Sabbats. The Crone prepares for her long cold rest and drawing back her power of abundance and fertility. This is a good time to be grateful for the abundance we receive from the earth. 

The History of Mabon: 

‘History

To start, Mabon is one of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year that marks the transition out of summer into the autumn season. Named after the God of Welsh and Celebrated on September 21st, this is a time that celebrates the balance of the equal light and dark as we slowly begin to prepare for shorter days and longer nights as winter approaches. 

Symbolically, this is the time when the Goddess moves into her crone stage as she grows older and begins to lie down and withdraw her power from the land, leaving it cold and still. However, many also choose to celebrate this festival by honoring the goddess Demeter, as well as Persephone, as it is said that Demeter’s grief in losing her daughter to the underworld is also what caused the earth to transition from its warm and abundant peak into a long and stagnant winter. 

Aside from this, energetically speaking, Mabon is a beautiful time of reflection and movement. It is a time to complete goals, cleanse away old energies, and let go of what is no longer serving you. Not to mention, it is also a good time for making changes in our lives and planting seeds of intention that will grow and rise in the spring. Therefore, it is a great time to reflect on your path and your goals and begin taking larger steps towards bringing them to fruition. ‘ 

Credit given to: https://spiritnest.com/blogs/news/a-mabon-celebration-celebrating-the-second-harvest?_pos=1&_sid=cd273c50b&_ss=r&utm_source=Shopify+Subscribers&utm_campaign=41bed93904-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_03_COPY_04&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6db5b07b64-41bed93904-60519593&mc_cid=41bed93904&mc_eid=7f0f546ded

Herbs, flowers and berries:

September is a month of abundance and harvesting the earthy goodness all around us. You can use the herbs you gathered to decorate your Mabon altar and your home. Gather herbs in the morning on a dry day. Always cut the stems and stalks on an angle. Use a good pair of clean sharp scissors or a boline. Give thanks to the plant spirit and only harvest what you need. Wash off any dirt or bugs and dry your herbs by dehydrating them in a dehydrator or on a mesh screen. Take a plant identification book with your or an app to help you identify and harvest the correct plant. Don’t get anything that is poisonous. An app such as Seek is good. Take a magnifying glass, a bag to store the snipped herbs in and wear good walking shoes, also bring insect repellent and don’t harvest from a diseased plant. Don’t harvest anything that has been sprayed, or is at risk of being endangered. 

Sunflowers, corn husks, any flowers growing in your garden or in your area such as goldenrod, red clover, St. John’s wort, rose petals, Chinese lanterns, yarrow, blue cornflower, thyme, lavender, sage, basil, burdock, elderberries, or rosemary. All these herbs, flowers and berries are potent. Pumpkins, gourds, potatoes, onions, wheat, acorns, dandelion roots, burdock roots add a rich healthy earthiness to a Mabon harvest. Feel free to add bones, pomegranates, cider. 

Gemstones:

Gemstones have been used to heal people and empower their lives since time immemorial. Black tourmaline, hematite, sunstone, citrine, amber, quartz, agates and petrified wood are ideal. Match the colours of the gemstones to the shades of Mabon. Leave a few gemstones in your garden as an offering to the nature spirits for protecting and nurturing your garden. They can decorate your altar. Use browns, gold, reds and orange colours. 

The next post will focus on the ways to celebrate Mabon. This is sure to inspire you! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

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April 28, 2023 · 10:17 am

Spring Creations

Merry meet all,

I am inspired by spring’s fresh  green renewal! My garden is coming to life. I have big plans: this month of May, I plan to deep clean and make big changes in the kitchen. The kitchen is, to me, one of the hearts of the home. I am a devoted hardcore kitchen witch and a kitchen witch always keeps a kitchen clean and in good order. I bought a bookcase. The bookcase that stands in my kitchen now has long since expired. I think spring which is about new life and renewal is the perfect time to redo the kitchen. I can’t wait to get the bookcase which has to be assembled first and then painted is the right time for this project. 

I bought artificial moss, artificial flowers and vines, butterfly and insect stickers, a tiny birdhouse, and I plan to make a faerie portal on a stand. I can paint the bookcase. That was good news to me when I read that on the website. My imagination was fired up. There was only one colour choice for me and I bet you can guess it- green! Green is the colour of spring after a winter of rustic browns and faded greys. 

I am going to paint it a deep forest green colour. I plan to paint the birdhouse. I have some wooden dowel rods. I want to glue the birdhouse to the wooden dowel rod. I’m going to glue the moss to the bookcase once it is painted. I also want to add fairy lights.  plan to glue on acorns, pinecones, the butterfly stickers, artificial leaves, and give it a real fairy/ witch bookcase feel and look. It will be amazing. The bookcase arrives on Saturday. 

I can’t wait to be rid of the old bookcase. It is fragile and could fall down any moment. It had too much weight on it. Plus, it’s plain and white and ugly and an eyesore.  The bookcase that arrives on the weekend will be absolutely amazing. I have been collecting a few items to use to decorate the bookcase: feathers, a besom made from lemon balm twigs, a wooden rune, spellite stone, a pinecone, birch bark, a black candle and another ornate thing I don’t have the name for but it looks so mystical. 

I added a kitchen cabinets organizer to the cupboard that stores my mugs, cups and thermos, etc. I could not believe the difference in the cupboard. I love it! Also, the organizer matches the colour of the cupboard and that was definitely an added bonus.! Yup, big changes here!

 

 

 

 

 

I am so inspired that I transformed the covers of my gardening journal. It had boring black covers. I love black and there’s nothing wrong with it. I am a ferociously creative person and it’s in my nature to grab a paintbrush to let my creativity out. I glued red tissue paper to the front and back covers. I painted the red tissue a deep green a few times. I made sure to hide all the red and trimmed the excess tissue from the edges. Then I twined two wires together to form a plant vine. I hot glued it to the front cover and painted it brown to look like an authentic plant vine. I cut the flowers and vines up from the main vines of the fake flowers and glued them to the wire to look they really grew from the wire. I glued on some butterfly stickers. It looks beautiful. The back of the book is now the front of the book. I glued designer papers to the insides of the front and back covers. The print designs are beautiful and match the theme. It’s going to be a gardening journal and should not be plain. I am inspired to write in it now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will keep track of the seeds I plant, the plants that I grow, the zone I live in, what worked, what didn’t, how well the plants grow etc. I hope you like it. I ordered a witchy book full of bewitching recipes. I shall soon add it to the collection of herbal books. I can’t wait to begin my new awesome project of transforming the bookcase. I have to buy green paint and I want to be certain I have the perfect colour of green. I am sure that the staff at the store will help with that. 

I‘m going to deep clean the kitchen too. Don’t you all just love spring. I found a light thin green curtain stored with my other linens. It is perfect to hide the herb jars from light but thin enough to not encourage mold. I found an old dead branch that I’m going to trim to size, scrape off the bark, and paint and hang up at my apothecary. I am just brimming with creative energy! I would love to hear about your own spring inspirations. Beltane is coming!

Enjoy spring!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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December 9, 2022 · 12:39 pm

Holiday Treats

Merry meet all,

I conjured up peppermint bark. My dark pagan gods, I never tasted anything so divine in my life. This post will show you how to make your own amazing peppermint bark!

You will need cocoa butter or coconut oil, peppermint extract, white chocolate chips, honey, fennel seeds, and candy canes. I used organic coconut oil. Cocoa butter is expensive and hard to find outside of regular grocery stores. First, make your toppings. Candy the fennel seeds. Add two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of sugar to a pan. When it sizzles, and the sugar has dissolved, add the fennel seeds. Set it aside. Crumble the candy canes in a blender. I used six candy canes for a topping. 

While you are making the bark, your kitchen will smell great. Melt the cocoa butter or cocoa powder and coconut oil together in a double boiler. When it has thoroughly softened and melted, add the peppermint extract. Then pour the chocolate onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Let it cool in the fridge. 

Clean the bowl you used for the dark chocolate to melt the white chocolate chips. I used coconut oil again. The white chocolate chips weren’t melting the way I would like. Do not let any water get in the bowl or it will seize. Add more peppermint extract to the white chocolate and pour it on top of the dark chocolate. It is tricky. You don’t want the white chocolate and the dark chocolate to blend. Quickly add the toppings – the fennel seeds and the crumbled candy cane. Let the chocolate harden and dry overnight. 

Now you have a true divine treat to enjoy and share with your loved ones over the holiday season. Store the peppermint bark in an airtight container in the fridge or the freezer. You will never have to buy it again. You will never want to buy it again. Homemade peppermint bark is far more delicious. 

It is optional but not necessary to add the honey. I totally forgot. I was using two different recipes for the bark. It is so quick to make and affordable I just might a second batch. To give as gifts, break the pieces apart and tuck into small cellophane plastic bags and tie with a holiday string or bow. 

I have a bottle of cider in the fridge for the holidays. I also have a bottle of brandy to enjoy with the cider or a hot toddy. I made a beautiful gift for my Mom. I just can’t wait for this holiday. I scored a lovely silver table cloth and I decorated my goth tree. I don’t have much money but I am determined to enjoy the holidays. 

I wish you all a Happy Solstice

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

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September 30, 2021 · 12:50 pm

Autumn Herbs

Merry meet all,

Tomorrow is October 1st. I have a new rolling cart to store my multiple jars of herbs. By. herbs, I mean of course seeds, bark, leaves, flowers. I had to assemble the cart and that was a nightmare. Are you all getting ready for Samhain? I am! I am also preparing for the Materia Medica course I am taking at the Herbal Academy in addition to the Introductory Herbal course I am already taking. That does involve getting more organized, which is why I bought the cart.

I ordered seeds from a company on Etsy. They are as follows; German chamomile, black swan poppy, Scott bonnet pepper, black cumin, purple echinacea, halloween calendula, Howden pumpkin, borage, sunflower, black tar poppy, chef’s pick parsley, Larkspur, anise, purple echinacea, purple salsify, Vietnamese cilantro, and foxglove blend. Next spring, I will be having fun planting all that!  I gathered the Chinese lanterns, burdock seeds, mullein seeds, and I will soon gather the nasturtium seeds from my garden. I gathered mullein in an empty field and it also grows on the nature trail. A witch hazel grows on the trail too! 

A materia medica means healing materials. It basically means a book about herbal profiles. The profiles are called monographs. I plan to have the most amazing material media by the time I am done studying. The material media course teaches you how to complete a herbal profile. I have access to the Herbarium. I can download any herb monograph I choose to. I ordered a herb journal – titled My Herbology journal, A Green Witch Journal from Amazon. I also ordered a paper making screen deckle and mold! 

Here is the link to the journal: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08TQ7DX6J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 Several herbs that I need for the course grow on the nature trail. Goldenrod, burdock, mullein, asters, raspberry, elderberry, chokeberry, coltsfoot, queen Anne’s lace, black elderberry, staghorn sumac, creeping juniper, perennial sow thistle, red clover, and  thistle all grow on the trail. I may have already mentioned this. I have an app on my phone that helps me identify plants. If you want to forage in the wild, bring gloves to protect you, a charged cellphone that has an app for identifying plants, wear something to protect you from bug bites and poisonous plants, a water bottle to stay hydrated, and scissors. It helps to carry a big plastic bag or cloth bag to hold the herbs you gather. Don’t consume anything if you are not sure. You could make yourself sick. I want to gather goldenrod next summer to dye a piece of fabric yellow. I just want to try it. !!!

I still have to dehydrate the elderberries. I brewed a jar of elderberry, rhubarb and blueberry am.  I should added cinnamon and clove. I am making a jar of elderberry tincture. The berries were dried and I added vodka. I labeled the jar and also lined the top of the jar with natural waxed paper. The metal can’t contaminate the mixture. I can’t wait to try it. But I do want to caution: elderberries contain cyanide, so please if you make a remedy using elderberries, use black or purple berries – not green, and be careful. I will make the tincture last a long time. I don’t plan to consume it every day. The berries are not cooked for making a tincture. Some cyanide could still be present in the berries. Everything in moderation. 

I gathered herbs for my first lesson in the materia medica course. They were lemon balm, goldenrod, thyme, lavender, mint and chamomile. It grows in the garden and on the nature trail.I need to study the herbs for the courses. (What a hardship, eh?) There are so many herbs to learn about and I live in the right environment. Fall is here. Many of the plants are winding down for the long cold rest. The nature trial is now full of the thistles, queen Anne’s lace, burdock, goldenrod all going to seed. The queen Anne’s lace seedbeds resemble bird’s nests. 

I have to collect the raspberries from my garden. The tomatoes are still ripening. The pumpkin patch is growing! I have tried for 11 years to grow a pumpkin patch and now I have! Hopefully the frost will hold off! I pickled my own cucumbers. The flavour is truly divine. I stored two jars of applesauce in the freezer too. I am well stocked. I have to puree the pumpkin. So much to do, so little time. 

I am enjoying my studies at the Herbal Academy. Well obviously right? I decorate my binder with butterfly stickers, protect the notes and printouts in sheet protectors, and do my best to keep it organized. I want to be a herbalist and work in a trade that involves herbs. It will be a long road but an interesting one!!

The link to the Herbal Academy- in case you want to study there!!

https://theherbalacademy.com/my-account/?awt_a=5cXw&awt_l=Bv79G&awt_m=mUTf3FOR61wS3Xw

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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September 16, 2021 · 12:39 pm

The Feminine Macabre Volume 2

Merry meet all,

I am very excited about the good news of the upcoming second volume of the all-female paranormal journal The Feminine Macabre!!!!! )O(

Have you gotten your copy of The Feminine Macabre Volume II yet? It’s 100 pages longer than Volume I with a foreword by Michelle Belanger and introduces you to 40 up and coming researchers in the occult, paranormal, and metaphysical.

Return to the world of The Feminine Macabre in Volume II of the all-female paranormal journal. Explore essays written by women from all over the world, highlighting their research and theories on witchcraft, hauntings, folklore, dark history, tarot, cryptids, and more.

With a foreword by Michelle Belanger, Volume II features the writing talents of Hannah Ahboo, Tiffiny Rose Allen, Chris Amandier, Gina Armstrong, Al Becker, Amy L. Bennett, Stephanie Bingham, Sarah Blake, Ashley Casseday, Kate Cherrell, Mallory Cywinski, Erica Gibson Delight, Deanna Erskine, Liana Gaffney, Kenzie Gleason, Claire Goodchild, Charlotte Grace, Jen Hall, Kristin Harris, Amanda Hellewell-King, Zo Jacobi, Heddy Johannesen, Lorien Jones, Melissa Lathrop, Donna Malmborg, Marianne McCarthy, Drea Mora, Morgan Moran, Victoria Mundae, Hilary Opiel, Roxanne Rhoads, Vanessa Rowan, Nicole St. Germain, Krista Schwimmer, Sarah Stream, Aoife Sutton, Victoria Vancek, Tamora L. Vang, Emily Wayland, Karen J. Weyant, Cherise Williams, and Amanda R. Woomer.

The editor, Amanda, interviewed me about my background in the paranormal and my story that’s published in the book. I know I posted about this before. I am just so excited I had to post it here again. I enjoyed doing the interview. The book is available on Amazon. Here is the link to it: https://amzn.to/3zsT1Fu. 

The interview will be posted on Sept.29th on Facebook. In other news, I am enjoying the Herbal Academy courses and the short story course. It forced me to write a draft about a female werewolf. 

I have a herbal apothecary now. I have jars and jars of all kinds of herbs, seeds, roots and flowers. I created a second air drying herb rack. I harvested mint, lemon balm, dill, chamomile and mullein! I love it! I am so enjoying learning more about herbs all the time. Lemon balm has a long history of use dating back 2,000 years. Mullein is a good lung tonic. Eleuthoro root is delicious in herbal teas. Chamomile is a great herb from the tiniest leaf to the root. It can all be used. The many benefits of chamomile have been enjoyed for thousands of years., “the star among medicinal species.” Chamomile is a good nervine and also a good analgesic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory,antimicrobial,  antispasmodic, antistress, good for gastrointestinal disorders, protects against polio, a sedative, and has wound healing properties. Wow. You get all that in one chamomile plant. That is not all it can even do but that lists some of its healing powers. 

I enjoyed a cup of lavender and chamomile tea last night before sleeping. I love herbalism. It’s an ancient tradition. Homeopathy isn’t related to herbalism. Homeopathy is a relatively new healing path. This may be a new career for me! Bring it on! I have two awesome books now about herbalism. One, Rosemary Gladstar’s book titled Medicinal Herbs, and two, Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition. The third book I recently acquired is Entering Hekate’s garden by Cyndi Brannen. The books are beautiful and jam packed with herbs. 

I own a ton of new apothecary supplies such as tins for salves, balms, amber coloured jars, muslin sachets, a kitchen scale. I love my kitchen scale. I feel all ready for a new year in herbalism!!

Mabon is almost here! Are you ready for it, my dear readers? I will post more about it as the date gets closer. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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